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Samuel Pohlner joins The Qode

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Samuel Pohlner has joined The Qode as Senior Communications Executive. Previously Senior PR and Marketing Executive for West L.A. Boutique, where he handled all press relations and organised events, Samuel brings over three years of experience in PR to his new role.  As Senior Communications Executive, he will be working on a number of luxury fashion and beauty accounts, including Diesel, COS, Melijoe and Obagi Medispa.

“I am extremely excited to be joining The Qode, one of the most outstanding PR agencies in the region and to be working alongside such an incredible team,” says Samuel. “I can’t wait to begin working on projects and to see what the future holds.”

Turner EMEA appoints new VP

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Turner Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) has promoted Tarek Mounir to the role of Vice President and General Manager Turkey, Middle East, North Africa (MENA), Greece and Cyprus. Previously General Manager for MENA, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, in his new role Tarek will be reporting to Giorgio Stock, President, Turner EMEA, where he will continue to lead the region as well as be more involved in with the company on a senior level.

“This promotion recognises Tarek’s role in aggressively developing Turner’s presence in the region and driving significant growth, across both free to air and pay TV platforms and in the non-linear space,” says Giorgio.

Rani Raad, President, CNN International Commercial, adds “Tarek has done an outstanding job of building strong teams whose creativity and enterprise across Turner’s expanding Middle East portfolio have helped drive an overall growth trajectory in an increasingly important market.”

Publinet Group makes new senior appointments

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Communications network Publinet Group, which includes Cicero & Bernay Public Relations, RAW social media agency and creative think-tank Spark* Middle East, has expanded its senior leadership team with three new appointments. Cicero & Bernay has welcomed Grace Asmar to the role of Director of Practices and Offerings where she will act as the agency’s custodian of all brands and personnel. She will be responsible for the development and management of clients, working closely with Cicero & Bernay directors in an effort to drive the vision and strategy for the agency. Jamal H. Iqbal has also been appointed to the role of Director of Brand Outreach, where he will add a brand-focused and creative perspective to client’s strategies. As well as these senior appointments at Cicero & Bernay, RAW will welcome Rennie Mitchell to the role of its first-ever Creative Director, where he will work across digital and social media strategy and management for the agency.

“The expansion of the Publinet senior team is significant in that it underscores the confidence we have in the region’s opportunities and the need for senior expertise,” says Ahmad Itani, COO, Publinet Group. “Publinet companies are focused on delivering best-practice solutions for our clients and the addition of these three individuals to our senior teams will offer in-depth expertise to clients and enable us to deliver integrated and strategic solutions from all of the Publinet companies.”

CNN launches CNN Style

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CNN International has launched CNN Style on TV, following the successful launch of CNN.com/Style last year. The first 30-minute Monthly CNN Style show was aired on CNN International on Saturday, April 9 and was fronted by Journalist and Author Derek Blasberg. The programme will aim to be at definitive events in the style calendar such as biennales, expos, fashion weeks and design festivals, with upcoming episodes coming from New York’s Met Ball, Milan Design Week and the Venice Architecture Biennale, amongst others. The new launch will also feature across the CNN International network with segments and reports all featuring under the CNN Style banner, such as The Invitation – a new regular feature that will air during prime time shows CNN Today and The World Right Now with Hala Gorani. 

“Luxury advertisers and premium brands naturally turn to CNN when they want to connect with upmarket audiences at scale,” says Cathy Ibal, Sales Director, CNN International. “CNN Style coming to TV further strengthens our proposition to such brands following the commercial and editorial success of CNN Style launching on digital platforms last year. I’m already seeing strong interest from advertising partners as we develop a broad range of brand solutions around this unique cross-platform editorial product.”

Al Arabiya English launches blog section

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Al Arabiya English has added a blogs section to its website, to focus on additional areas of interest outside of politics. The section will feature a host of international writers covering fashion, beauty, career coaching, nutrition and fitness, there will also be features from sports, politics, business and art bloggers who will add to the topics covered. The new blog section will be edited by Eman El-Shenawi and the section’s inaugural blog piece was written by Sultan al-Qassemi, a commentator on Arab affairs and art in the region, on why the Middle East must embrace placing art online.

“Our lifestyle page has become one of the top three traffic generators on our website and it was through that we had the idea to launch the blog section,” says Faisal Abbas, Editor-in-Chief, Al Arabiya English. “Although we are known for politics, we thought we’d give those who write on nutrition, sports and life in general an opportunity to write for our website.”

Motivate welcomes new Editor

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Lauren Steadman has joined Motivate Publishing as an Editor for its Connect division. Previously an Editor at ITP Publishing, Lauren has over 15 years of experience in journalism, five of which have been spent in the Gulf region. In her new role, she will edit Flashes magazine, writing and commissioning features concerning education, development, health and sustainability across the Middle East. Lauren will also be working as Contributing Editor for The Week magazine.